Distributed by: Yamaha Music Australia | Expect to pay: $1,349 - $1,999
The world of audio and musical equipment can be a tricky one to navigate at the best of times. With so many different products, conflicting opinions and confusing reviews, it’s hard to know what’s actually the best product for your needs.
Luckily, the team at Mixdown have put in the legwork for you, sifting through the spec-sheets and putting the products through their paces to bring you Mixdown’s Picks – a new series of expansive, category defining product guides across our digital channels. Anything that has made the cut has rated highly across the board with the Mixdown staff, garnering a unanimous tick of approval from our staunch critics.
As we all know, this upcoming holiday period is sure to be remembered as the summer where portable PA reigned supreme in backgrounds around the country, and it’s with this in mind that we are proud to present Mixdown’s Picks: Portable PA’s, showcasing all the best small scale PA, monitoring and portable sound reinforcement solutions on the market today.
Yamaha Stagepas 1K
Key Features: When it comes to truly mobile PA setups, the battle is generally fought and won in the choice of driver size, (with certain compromises often needing to be made for the sake of portability). Not so the Yamaha Stagepas 1k.
The 1000w column array/sub combo boasts a full 12” woofer, providing broad spectrum frequency response right down to 37hz and pushing the limits of what a portable speaker can do, not just as a glorified party starter, but as a fully viable gigging option.
This aforementioned Sub, combined with the ten small-diameter 1.5″ HF drivers at the top of the unit, in turn make for a system that excels in audience coverage. The impressive 170° horizontal and 30° vertical pan delivers consistent, controlled output over long distances in a way few other ‘all-in-one’ systems can match, projecting balanced, high-quality sound from the stagefront all the way to the back row.
Boasting a 1000w Class-D amplifier inside it’s slimline, minimalist enclosure, the Stagepas1k is tailor made for clean, distortion free performance. Yamaha’s own ‘Twisted Flare Port’ technology definitely goes a long way to keeping port wind noise to a minimum, skillfully avoiding the dreaded ‘one note bass’ that often plagues portable systems and maintaining sonic integrity and parity right down into the low frequencies.
The built in 5-channel digital mixer features three channels of mono microphone/line inputs and stereo inputs, with two of the mono input channels equipped with Hi-Z connectivity for direct injection of instruments like keyboards, acoustic guitar etc, making it a perfect choice for the small combo, mobile DJ or for small scale corporate AV applications.
Mixdown Says:
Along with other Yamaha Stagepas offerings (like the dual speakered 400BT and 600BT), the Stagepas 1k has already garnered a solid reputation as one of the best portable PA solutions out there, and with one glance at the spec sheet, its easy to see why.
It’s amplifier module, driver choice and max SPL/Coverage stats all read like a much larger speaker- providing much in the way of sound reinforcement while requiring little in the way of physical footprint.
The ability to link together multiple systems, coupled with the obvious sonic properties of the larger sub/multiple HF array, make for a speaker with an incredibly high ceiling,
Weighing in at a 23 kg it may not be the lightest of the Portable PA’s, but it’s ability to provide a legitimate front of house experience is sure to make it an obvious choice for anyone looking for a PA that is practical, portable and above all else, high performing.
Overall: Yamaha wrote the book on sound reinforcement (literally-the brands ‘Sound Reinforcement Handbook’ is considered the bible for all things PA and speaker design), so it comes as no surprise that the Stagepas1k comes bursting at the seams with electro acoustic design nous and clever workflow tidbits.
Even the accessories (like the fitted cover or optional DL-1SPK dolly) have the look and feel of a company with a long and storied history in the professional space. The Stagepas Editor App (which allows users to adjust voume and EQ at a distance via Bluetooth during rehearsal or performance) is yet another nod to the world of large scale venue installs and touring PA and provides level of legitimacy seldom encountered in the world of Portable PA.
If you are serious about stage sound (even in the context of house parties and pop up shows), then the Stagepas 1k is for you.
Find out about the Stagepas 1K via Yamaha Music Australia.
